May 8, 2024

In fall 2024, the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) will be offering a new online graduate certificate: Foundations in Geographic Information Science (GIScience) for Natural Resources.

This certificate consists of three fundamental courses:

• GIS for Natural Resource Management (4 credits)
• Map Design With GIS (3 credits)
• GPS Field Techniques (2 credits)

Taught by Parth Bhatt, CFRES assistant teaching professor and researcher, this certificate is the first of three that will comprise a new online master’s degree in GIScience, which is currently under development.

Learn more about GIScience, this certificate and its talented, passionate instructor at the Michigan Tech Global Campus News blog.

Michigan Tech hockey announced its 2024-25 schedule yesterday (May 7) in conjunction with the CCHA's composite schedule release. The Huskies have 34 regular-season games that include 24 CCHA games, 14 contests at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena and 10 nonconference matchups.

Tech's hockey season begins with a home exhibition game Oct. 5 against Northern Michigan. The regular season starts with a road trip to Alaska (Oct. 11-12). Clarkson comes to Houghton on Oct. 25-26 on Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame weekend.

Tech begins CCHA play Nov. 1-2 against NMU, with Friday's game in Marquette and Saturday's in Houghton.

See the schedule at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Job Postings for Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available on the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 906-487-2280 or email humanresources@mtu.edu. For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

Custodian (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #24122, Facilities Management (AFSCME posting dates May 8 to May 14, 2024 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online.

Baker (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #24124, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates May 8 to May 14, 2024 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online.

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Accommodations are available. If you require any auxiliary aids, services, or other accommodations to apply for employment, or for an interview, at Michigan Technological University, please notify the Human Resources office at 906-487-2280 or humanresources@mtu.edu.

Kedmon Hungwe (CLS) is the co-author of a book chapter titled "Digital Public Sphere's Role in COVID-19 Mitigation in Zimbabwe: Government-Citizen Engagement." The chapter appears in the book "Public Health Communication Challenges to Minority and Indigenous Communities" published by IGI Global.

The research investigates the dynamics of government and citizen interaction in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular emphasis on the digital public sphere. Using qualitative interviews and content analysis of messages, the authors examined the influence of official and informal channels on public perceptions. The results highlight a lack of trust in the government, reliance on informal social media networks for counter-narratives and widespread misconceptions about the virus. The study further underscores the significance of tailored communication strategies, considering socio-economic, linguistic and digital divides. The findings have broad implications for future pandemic response strategies, emphasizing the importance of trust, clarity and accessibility of information.

The work is currently available online only.

Guy Meadows (GLRC/ME-EM) was quoted by Discover Magazine in a story exploring the Great Lakes’ shipwreck history and how the lakes’ characteristics lead to dangerous winds and waves. The story referenced a 2021 Michigan Tech News story about a monitoring buoy and high-frequency radar system deployed by MTU researchers in the Straits of Mackinac.

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Don Lafreniere (SS/GRF) and industrial heritage and archaeology Ph.D. student James Juip (GLRC/GRF) were quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about Michigan Tech’s receipt of the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation. The award recognized the efforts of the Department of Social Sciences, Geospatial Research Facility and Michigan Tech Archives toward developing the Keweenaw Time Traveler. The award was the subject of a Michigan Tech News story.

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Michigan Tech Air Force ROTC Cadet Catherine Prince (mechanical engineering) was announced by the American Battle Monuments Commission as one of two recipients of the 2024 ABMC International Fellowship. The fellowship includes deployment to the Netherlands American Cemetery for its Memorial Day commemoration. The announcement was picked up by the Daily Mining Gazette.

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Colorado’s Craig Press mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the Moffatt County School District’s new curriculum director: Maggie Bruski ’02 (B.S. Mathematics).

NSF Proposal Submission Updates

Researchers who are submitting proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) should be aware of several upcoming changes and clarifications that may impact proposal submission.

Below, we highlight significant upcoming changes that will affect NSF proposers. However, the full list of changes — which will go into effect May 20 — can be found on the NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and the associated Significant Changes and Clarifications webpage. Current submission rules remain in effect through May 19.

The three-page limitation for each biographical sketch has been removed; there is now no page limitation for this section of the proposal. In addition, the synergistic activities section has been removed from the biographical sketch. Information on synergistic activities must now be submitted for each senior/key person as a separate one-page document uploaded to Research.gov.

The "Proposal Font, Spacing and Margin Requirements" section of the PAPPG has been modified to allow for submission of proposal documents in landscape format.

Requirements for mentoring plans have been expanded to now require a mentoring plan for all postdoctoral researchers and graduate students supported on the project. The page limitation for the mentoring plan remains one page. This is the first time a mentoring plan has been required for graduate students. In addition, at the award stage, Individual Development Plans are required for postdoctoral scholars or graduate students who receive substantial NSF support on the project. Each Individual Development Plan is required to be updated annually.

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PaperCut Software Upgrade

From 6-8 p.m. tomorrow (May 9), Michigan Tech IT will be upgrading the PaperCut software. Husky-bw, husky-color and direct print queues will be unavailable for potentially 15 minutes during the upgrade window.

If you have any questions about the upgrade, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

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